By IBRAHIM SABO
There is nothing fundamentally wrong with the idea of establishing a Polytechnic Press. In fact, it could be one of the most strategic decisions Kano State Polytechnic can take, provided it is properly conceived, professionally managed and, most importantly, designed to complement rather than undermine the institution’s Printing Technology Department.
It is important to state from the outset that universities are not the only higher institutions capable of establishing publishing and printing presses.
Several internationally recognised universities operate highly reputable presses, including Cambridge University Press and the University of Pittsburgh Press.
In Nigeria, institutions such as Ahmadu Bello University and the University of Ibadan have also established university presses that have contributed significantly to academic publishing.
The changing nature of higher education has also blurred some of the traditional distinctions between universities and polytechnics.
Programmes once largely associated with universities are now offered by polytechnics, while polytechnics themselves are increasingly expected to operate in ways that combine academic training, technological development and institutional sustainability.
Therefore, a polytechnic that offers Printing Technology should not be afraid to establish a formidable press.
But there is a major caveat: a Polytechnic Press must not be established at the expense of the Printing Technology Department.
If anything, the establishment of such a press should provide the long-awaited opportunity to revive, modernise and reposition the department.
The proposal is good, the approach matters
If the management of Kano State Polytechnic has indeed proposed the establishment of a Polytechnic Press, the proposal itself should not automatically be condemned.
What should be questioned is the structure, ownership, professional control and operational model being contemplated.
The Printing Technology Department should be at the centre of the discussion.
The Head of Department, as the academic and professional head of the programme, should be invited to make a comprehensive professional submission to management explaining how the proposed press can be established without compromising the academic mandate of the department.
Indeed, such professional input could make the HOD an important member of any committee constituted to plan or implement the project.
It would be difficult to justify establishing a printing press within a polytechnic that already has a Printing Technology Department while excluding the very professionals whose academic and technical expertise is directly relevant to the operation.
Don’t dismantle what you should develop
The greatest danger is not the establishment of the Polytechnic Press itself. The danger is attempting to create the press by taking over the machines, facilities or space of the Printing Technology Department without adequately replacing, upgrading or expanding what is already there.
That would amount to solving one problem by creating another.
If the Polytechnic wants a modern press, then let it invest in modern printing technology.
If additional space is required, let additional infrastructure be provided.
If the existing machines are obsolete, let them be replaced or supplemented.
If more manpower is required, let qualified professionals be employed.
In other words, the solution should be development, not displacement.
Fortunately, the present development efforts of the Kano State Government provide an opportunity to take this approach.
With the School of Technology and its departments receiving attention, the Printing Technology Department should be repositioned as one of the beneficiaries of this renewed investment.
Why not a 2-in-1 press?
The most practical solution may be what I would describe as the 2-in-1 Polytechnic Press Model.
Under this model, the press would have two complementary mandates:
- Academic Mandate:
To provide students of Printing Technology with continuous practical training in prepress, printing, finishing and other relevant areas. - Commercial Mandate:
To undertake printing jobs for the Polytechnic, government establishments, private organisations and other approved clients in order to generate revenue.
There is no contradiction between these two functions.
In fact, they can reinforce each other.
Students need practical experience. The commercial press needs trained personnel. The institution needs internally generated revenue. The department needs consumables and modern equipment.
A properly managed 2-in-1 model can bring these interests together.
The Economic reality cannot be ignored
The present economic situation makes such a model even more relevant.
Technical and engineering programmes cannot function effectively without regular practical training. Students cannot learn printing technology theoretically. They need paper, ink, plates, chemicals, substrates and other consumables. They need access to functioning machines. They need to print.
Yet one of the persistent challenges confronting technical departments in many institutions is the inadequate provision of practical materials.
Where departments repeatedly request consumables and receive little or nothing, practical training inevitably suffers.
This is why internal sustainability should be part of the conversation.
Management may reasonably want a press that does not merely consume institutional funds but can also generate revenue. That objective is understandable.
But revenue generation must not become an excuse to abandon the academic responsibility of the institution.
The Academic Department is not a Commercial Enterprise
This distinction must remain clear.
The primary responsibility of an academic department is teaching, training, research and the production of competent graduates but not profit-making.
The Polytechnic therefore has a responsibility to provide the materials and facilities required for students’ practical training from the resources available to the institution.
A commercial press can support that responsibility, but it cannot replace it.
The answer is therefore not to commercialise the academic department indiscriminately. Rather, the answer is to create a structure in which commercial operations support academic objectives.
The 3Ms: Money, Machines and Manpower
For the proposed Polytechnic Press to succeed, three things are indispensable:
Money. Machines. Manpower.
Without adequate funding, the press cannot be established and sustained.
Without modern and functional machines, it cannot compete commercially or provide quality practical training.
Without competent manpower, even the best equipment will eventually become ineffective.
The Polytechnic must therefore invest in modern printing, digital prepress and finishing equipment while renovating and expanding the existing facilities.
Most importantly, qualified Printing Technology lecturers, technologists, technicians and other professionals must have defined roles within the operation.
Accountability is non-negotiable
There is, however, one final issue that must not be ignored: accountability.
If the press is expected to generate revenue, there must be a transparent system for receiving jobs, costing, production, payment, procurement, expenditure and reinvestment.
Revenue generated must be properly accounted for.
Machines must be maintained.
Consumables must be procured.
Staff responsibilities must be clearly defined.
And funds generated by the press should, where appropriate, support the sustainability of the operation and the academic objectives of the Printing Technology programme.
The press should not become another avenue for financial leakage.
Build the Press around the Department
The establishment of a Polytechnic Press could actually become a turning point for Kano State Polytechnic’s Printing Technology Department.
Instead of seeing the department as a facility whose machines and space can simply be annexed, management should see it as the professional foundation upon which a modern Polytechnic Press can be built.
The department has the academic knowledge.
The lecturers have the professional experience.
The students provide an important practical-learning component.
The Polytechnic has the institutional structure.
What is required now is investment, modern equipment, proper management and a clear operational framework.
The Polytechnic Press should therefore not kill the Printing Technology Department. It should help bring it back to life.
If management gets the structure right, Kano State Polytechnic can have the best of both worlds: a commercially viable press that generates income and an academically vibrant Printing Technology Department that produces competent printers.
That is the model worth pursuing.
Not annexation. Not displacement. Not duplication.
But development, integration and sustainability, with probity and accountability.
Sabo was a onetime HOD Department of Printing Technology and also former Director School of Technology
